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Friday, January 3, 2014

Blue Velvet and Dotted Tulle Party Dress

The first dress of 2014! The folks at Michael Levine Fabrics in LA sent me this amazing silk/rayon velvet to play with. I've wanted a navy velvet dress for ages, so I saw this as my opportunity! My first instinct was to make a sheath-style dress. But then I came across this circle skirt in my closet . . . It coordinated perfectly with the blue velvet!

I made it back in 2011 for an article on circle skirts for Quick Stuff to Sew. (You can download the article for free here.) It had a waist size of a tiny 25", and I finally got up the nerve to cut off part of the top of the skirt to make the waist circumference bigger to fit me. Then I used the top of my recent draped sheath design to make a sweetheart-neckline bodice. I'm really happy that the skirt is getting some use again. It's a lovely tulle with flocked velvet dots, with an iridescent taffeta underlay. That's too much fabulous fabric to go to waste!

After our recent discussion on vintage pattern illustrations vs. reality, I've been interested in revisiting a super-retro silhouette, aided by the proper foundation garments. So I specifically fit this dress to be worn with a corset cincher (from Dark Garden), pointy bra (this Vasarette one has a lot of oomph), and crinoline (I like Malco Modes).

It really fascinates me how extreme the difference is when wearing era-appropriate undergarments. It shows that the fantasy New Look silhouette is partially obtainable, if you're willing to go there. It's nice to have the option to fit a dress either way. (For instance, I would never wear a performance dress with a corset because I need to be able to breathe freely to sing/play an instrument.) You just need to know in advance so that you can fit the dress with the undergarments on. (Downside: it's a huge pain to get in and out of a corset every time you want to do a fitting!)

That said, I feel slightly ridiculous wearing a skirt that huge, so I took some pictures without the crinoline too.

That feels way more wearable to me. Oh, I also made a little sash/cummerbund thingy which really only seems to work well on a cinched waist, in my opinion.

I'm trying some new stuff with my hair. My bangs are long enough again to do a psuedo-victory roll.

I have more to say on the construction of the dress (plus tips for sewing velvet!) which I will get to in another post. It's kind of nice to break these things up, don't you think?

I love my Malco Modes crinolines and I wear them all the time. I always get comments on how tiny my waist is and it's not - I have a 30"-31" waist and I don't wear a cincher. It's just that the ginormity of a full skirt makes my waist look a lot teenier. So I think you can achieve a look closer to the pattern envelope without having to invest in serious shapewear, at least for a fuller dress (wiggle dresses are another matter). And my go-to bra is the Bali Flower Bra - you can get it for under $20 and it's fairly pointy without being an extreme 'bullet' bra.

Honestly, I sew vintage patterns straight out of the envelope and they fit me fine with no alterations and minimal shapewear. (Spanx and the aforementioned Bali Flower Bra are enough for me.) It's not that I have a perfect body by any means (I've been living off Christmas cookies for the last three weeks) but I guess maybe I am proportioned right?

I like the Bali Flower bra too! Only problem is that its neckline is kind of high, so you can't wear it with anything even slightly low cut.

I can also sew vintage patterns out of the envelope with minimal alterations and no shapewear, but they barely resemble the pattern illustration in silhouette. This experiment was more about the challenge of actually achieving that illustration silhouette than the reality of women's bodies today or in the 50s. . . if that makes any sense :)

I get this too! I have a similar waist size, wear full skirts and often petticoats, and get a lot of comments about my "tiny" waist, hahaha. Also having a big bottom helps, it's all about proportions :P

Ooh, lucky you! My cincher is semi-custom. It's a standard size, but they made it in this fab peach silk satin and added garters dyed to match. I also had them add a busk cover to smooth the lines under dresses. It is amazing--Dark Garden was the highlight of my trip to SF a couple years back.

This is a gorgeous way to start the year! The nerd in me noticed that your dress is very much in the same spirit as the 1940's party gowns with taffeta or satin skirts topped by black or navy velvet sweet heart bodices that came into wild popularity following Disney's "Snow White" in 1937.

This is fabulous! I love it when I can make something old into something new, and you did a great job using your old skirt for this dress.

I'm debating whether or not to try some 50's-style foundation garments for a dress I'll be sewing soon. It's for my high school grad (same as prom, but we call it grad in Canada for whatever reason) dress, and the pattern is from 1956 with a fitted bodice and super-full gored skirt. I'll definitely wear a crinoline but I'm not sure about anything at the waist... usually I'm all for being happy with your body as it is and all that, but I'm really going for a full-on 50's look with this dress. That being said, my waist is pretty small already, but then it's more about proportions than size. I haven't decided yet... but I should soon because I need to start on a muslin.

Anyways, where I was going with this is that I agree that the foundation garments definitely help to get that vintage look -you look great and very 50's in these photos!

I love this combination. I have just took your craftsy class and husband brought me your book for Christmas. You are really inspiring. It helps that you are a normal womanly shape too. Keep up all the great work

Love it, especially with the crinoline. The hourglass shape the comes from the foundation garments is very flattering, and the addition of a crinoline is really intended to accentuate that. This one is definitely a winner!

Beautiful! I love velvet but have never sewn with it. It hangs about in my fantasy sewing list along with sequins, although partially because velvet and sequins would simply never be worn in my day to day wardrobe chasing grubby children! I love the shape with the crinoline too, perfect pattern packet stuff!

I find that leaving the corset on while sewing gives two bonuses- you don't have to struggle with the on/off between fittings, and it improves my posture so that I don't hunch over the machine. I get less of a backache after a full day of sewing garments fitted to corsets :) Of course, that just indicates that I need to work on my posture...

Sooo beautiful! I love the tulle circle skirt with the crinoline underneath. I don't have the courage to wear a crinoline or petticoat in every day life, but I wear it as often as possible at weddings, Christmas etc.

What a great project to start the year! You described the overall of this make perfectly - it was the combination of great fabrics to create an incredible outfit.

It's amazing to see the difference in the skirt's shape when you wear a crinoline and when you don't Personally, I think the skirt with the crinoline is too much for everyday wear, but without it, I'd totally wear the outfit out in public!

I love how very vintage you look, and how somehow hot pink hair doesn't make it any less so :). Also, damn girl, I want all your dresses, in my size, in my closet, magically and instantaneously! Such beautiful fabrics! such a lovely silhouette! (and needless to say, perfectly fitted and constructed, because it's you, and you rock those things ;)) I'm working on remembering to wear my petticoats on a more daily basis, it just feels like so much work to put on that extra piece in the morning when I'm half asleep...

Just lovely and your shoes suit it so well. And it looks great both with and without the crinoline and my favourite colour to boot. As you say, a great start to the new year. You just need a night out dancing now!

gorgeous as always! Even with all the foundation garments, i must say its much nicer without the crinoline. A little more relaxed, but as you mentioned, if you want the New Look look, its all part of the outfit!

The skirt and bodice are made for each other, I would never have guessed you made the skirt long before, what a perfect match. I really love this dress, it's beautiful and the colour looks great on you. I've always thought of the illustrations on vintage patterns as unrealistic ideals for the time in the same way as we see retouched and altered photos in advertising campaigns and magazines nowadays. They didn't have computers to alter them so they drew these 'perfect' images instead. I don't know, I'm no expert on this subject, but not all women in the past could achieve that look I'm sure.

Oh, my! This dress took my breath away! The color is beautiful and it fits you perfectly! You look like a movie star! I learned years ago when I took the Bishop Method of Clothing Construction classes to always fit your garment over the undergarments you plan to wear under it. It makes a big difference! I had crinoline petticoats when I was a little girl in the late 50's. It was the style. I love your blog!

The only thing I can say is your waist is very much smaller looking, even without the crinoline. I think this crinoline is just a bit too puffy for the dress, it some how straightens out the lines too much, it looks better on it's own. I read somewhere that the best thing is to get a few crinolines with less volume and layer them to the appropriate puffiness!

You have the MOST BEAUTIFUL face, and I LOVE your hair pulled back. The dress is lovely and so are the shoes, but those anchors! Sorry, JMHO. To me, they just don't go together. Of course, I'm old enough to be your grandmother. I don't understand why a beautiful woman would want to wear PERMANENT "jewelry" the rest of her life. And you don't even like embroidery and applique on tee shirts! Again, JMHO. Love you anyway!

Ah! Beautiful! Perfect match, the velvet and the dotted tulle, gorgeous. We would like to see the corset's underlining, and the lining too! I guess it is not stretch, this velvet? Well, its wonderful, anyways. I don't know about undergarments, but the skirt is better with the crinoline, that's for sure. It's a gorgeous dress. That being said, I would put the zipper in the back: the ondulations it gives to your side are a pity, and if it were in your back, your silouette would be wonderful. Congrats, it's gorgeous!

Beautiful, the combination of fabrics looks stunning. Can't wait for your advice on sewing velvet. I have just made (and blogged) about my xmas/new year party dress which was green velvet. No where near as fab as your dress but we all have to start somewhere! I found sewing with velvet really, really hard , so any tips will be hovered up by me.

I like this combination. It's beautiful and unexpected. Even after reading Tim Gunn's books, I have a hard time giving up my comfort for a certain look. How do you feel when wearing this? Does it feel functional? Thanks for blogging it.

Sorry you "feel slightly ridiculous wearing a skirt that huge: as it looks adorable for sure. Either way was fine really.Looking forward to your tips on sewing velvet. One of my fave materials but never had the nerve to try.

I must be one of your oldest followers - I wore skirts in the late 50s/early 60s with layers of net petticoats beneath.One of my aunties was a dressmaker, she made me a lovely dress for the english version of a graduation ball in ?1958. Turquoise net, strapless, with a huge skirt.

Sorry no pictures - just a good memory (TG). And the dress - goodness knows where it is now.I think the choice of fabrics available in those days was still very limited, in the UK anyway, (post WW2) and this affected the current styles.

Thanks for the post. I just bought my first dress form for Christmas and I had so many questions with no where to turn. Even after the fact, others opinions are welcomed because I was surprised with the "quality" of the form I bought. Flimsy and wobbly but the fit is good. I'm a size 0 and 5'4'' a sort of petite but not exactly so I didn't have many choices. Oh well, live and learn! I love the variation of pattern choices you post. They are so inspirational. Thanks!